During lockdown I set myself a challenge – to learn to spin! My aim was (and is) to be able to take the yarns I use to make my large-scale lace pieces from fibre to lace via dyeing. This is slightly complicated by the dual facts that I am allergic to sheep’s wool and that wool itself is not suited to lace making because of the very characteristic that makes it wearable – its stretch or crimp. So I have been experimenting with all sorts of other fibres: bamboo, silk, alpaca even banana. I have also ventured into natural dyeing – very exciting indeed! I am particularly keen on the woad that is so closely linked to East Anglia.
